Thursday, October 23, 2008

Useless Crime Stats

Production of platform boots is booming!

On Monday we blogged yet more evidence that the government's serious crime stats are useless. Just three days later, we get even more evidence.

It turns out the police recorded crime stats have been hugely under-recording serious violent crime for a decade. In consequence, the total for murder, attempted murder, manslaughter and severe assaults has suddenly leaped by 22%.

Naturally the commissars blame dim coppers for not following the State Statistical Bureau's detailed 15,000 page data manufacturing manual to the letter. But as we've said many times, when you ask people to fill in their own high stakes tractor production scorecards, you're bound to get gaming problems like this. Which is one very good reason for disbelieving the official stats.

"Today's statistical fiasco does not demonstrate that serious crime is soaring whatever you may read in the papers. If anything, serious violence in England and Wales is probably stable or even falling... ...The real disaster with this is that it will increase people's distrust of the data and millions will go on believing they are at increased risk of violence."

Translation: we don't need facts to support our view that serious violent crime is coming down; if only you silly little people out there would listen to us, instead of demanding "proof", your lives would be so much better.

If you can be bothered to read the latest tractor stats, they're here.

BOM the book now available

Drawing on six years of blogging government waste, this book shows how we spend far more than we need on our public services. It sets out the facts and explores the underlying issues. Just why does government spend so much and deliver such second rate service? Why do we put up with it? And what are the alternatives?

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Despite all the talk of cuts, government still consumes nearly half our national income. Yet many tens of billions of its spending is wasted, with taxpayers made to pick up the tab for a depressing array of overpriced sub-standard services. This is money we can no longer afford, and our National Debt is already at danger level.

If we're to avoid further decades of stagnation and austerity we urgently need to find another way. Exposing and understanding the wastefulness of government is a necessary step in the right direction.